Flourless Gianduia Torte Or The Key To Getting Married
You’ll notice I often write about food that is conscious of dietary concerns like dairy and gluten sensitivity, this is because my wife has very strict dietary restrictions I have to work around when I make dinner or food in general. She really does love a good dessert like most people but flour less Gianduia torte is her absolute favorite. What is Gianduia you may ask; well it is just the generic term for a chocolate hazelnut spread like Nutella. It is a supremely rich and dense torte full of flavour but also isn’t overly sweet. As with most baking as long as you follow the instructions it should come out perfectly dense and moist. Make sure to use a good quality chocolate, regular old chocolate chips contain too much sugar, semi sweet or dark chocolate is recommended. You’ll need a good quality 9” spring form pan, wrapped in foil very tightly. If any water gets into the pan it will ruin the consistency of the cake.
3/4 cup - skinned hazelnuts, lightly toasted
9 ounces - bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 ounces - milk chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons - unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/4 cups – Gianduia (Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread)
6 - Large eggs
1/3 cup - granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon - salt
1/4 cup – 35% whipping cream, cold
1) Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350° F. Coat bottom and sides of 9-inch spring form pan with butter. Place bottom of pan over large sheet of foil and fold foil up sides to create a waterproof seal.
2) Place hazelnuts in food processor and process until finely ground, set aside. Place bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and butter in stainless steel bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water. Heat while stirring occasionally, until mixture is melted. Remove from heat and stir in Nutella and ground hazelnuts until combined.
3) In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whip attachment, Beat eggs with sugar and salt on medium-high speed until doubled in volume, 3 to 4 minutes. Then fold 1/3 eggs into chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining eggs.
4) In the unwashed mixer bowl, whip cream on medium-high speed to soft peak, about 30 second then fold into chocolate. Pour into prepared pan.
5) Place pan in roasting pan and fill roasting pan with 1-inch hot water. Bake until center is just set and torte doesn't jiggle when shaken, 60 to 70 minutes. Remove spring form pan from roasting pan and place on cooling rack to cool about 30 minutes. Chill until completely set, 2 to 3 hours.
